Hip Hop may have finally met its match as upcoming artist Wordsmith climbs his way to the top and brings with him a new soundscape. With his “universal mentality” and ability to think outside of the box, Wordsmith is not one of your average Hip Hop artists of today. An independent artist trying to make a name for himself while helping other artists do the same, Wordsmith’s “Vintage Experience” is only the beginning. I was lucky enough to sit down with him and get an inside look at his unique perspective on Hip Hop.

Sonic Eclectic: With the release of your new album “Vintage Experience”, what should listeners who are hearing your music for the first time expect?

Wordsmith:  To take the words of a Baltimore writer who reviewed my album, listeners can expect a “Brilliant Mess.” Haaaa, I wouldn’t say its a mess, but its definitely an experience as consumers will see I have a vast knowledge of our hiphop culture per tracks “As the Art Fades Away,” a good ear for todays commercial sound with tracks like “Hook-Up Hotline” and ” Tour Guide to New Bride,” my backpacker audiences will respect my mic skills per tracks like “Slanguistics” and “Wordz for Weaponz,” while listeners will get to know me more on a family/spiritual level with tracks like “Leap of Faith” and “God’s Morning.” Basically, there is something on this album for everyone as it is split into 4 unique chapters like a movie/play with theatrical scores courtesy of my alternative producer/brother “Professa.”

SE:  What producers and artists did you work with during the process of creating “Vintage Experience”?

W: With this being my first album, I really didn’t focus on big names and big producers. I was all about keeping things homegrown, so all my in house producers Strada, Capish, Professa, & Street Level did all the production on the album with only Rednaz Beats out of Poland lending a hand to the track “HipHop 2.0.” On the artist tip, my super group Kontact & Black Knight are featured on “Ridin Low,” “Slanguistics” and the Bridging the Gap Remix.” Still, I did grab some outside influences, though they were small in the form of Soulstice, Chubb Rock, Geechi Suede of Camp Lo, Grand Daddy I.U., Junclassic, Kimia Collins and Whitefolkz.

SE:  As a Hip Hop artist, what sets you apart from other artists, both mainstream and independent?

W: I think my ability to think outside of the box, having a universal mentality by growing up around the world and not following what the next man is doing will always set me apart throughout my career.

SE:  Hip Hop has definitely evolved since the days of Biggie and Tupac and continues to change as we see the evolution with some of today’s artists. In your opinion, has Hip Hop taken a good route or a bad turn?

W:  On the business tip, I feel like Hiphop took a turn for the best as artists are making more money then they ever did, but at the same time the music has suffered. I feel like we went from a genre of music that was all about being creative and different a la Public Enemy, Kwame, De la Soul, Eric B. & Rakim, etc. to artists like Gucci Mane, OJ Da Juiceman, Soulja Boy, etc. copying a formula that is working today. Understand, I am not knocking the current artists: I’m just saying I would like to see them go out the box and be more musically creative as their careers progress.

SE:  Tell us about Revolt Radio and where it is headed in the future…

W:  Well, I started Revolt Radio in March of 2008 as a small podcast on podomatic with a host and a DJ. I use to go through all the music myself, select the signed and unsigned talent to air on the show, promote it, set up interviews and more. Things took a nice up swing when I added our main host Black Knight and our main Deejay, DJ Nominal into the fold. Our main goal was to revolt against the current music on the airwaves, exploit artists we felt were overlooked and deserved to be heard and most of all a platform to promote unsigned talent. Needless to say, things have really evolved into a major situation I am proud of. DJ Nominal is now the Music Director for the station and a weekly schedule of shows that feature Black Knight, DJ Ykcor, The Funk Regulata Celo, DJ G-Power, DJ Mega Skills, DJ OS, DJ MLG, Fleet DJ’s, Cyrstal Carrington, Nique, DJ Torkaveli, DJ Staik, Trey P and Vintage Clothing Limited. All of our shows are professional and probably to be honest better then what you hear on commercial radio. Things have ran so well that I am not even really involved in the daily activities of the station anymore, but that just shows growth and belief in the system that was set up. Shout outs again to Black Knight and DJ Nominal for there work and a big shout out to NIck Dyer who designed http://www.revoltradio.com

SE:  Today there are so many different artists with so many different styles. Who, if any, would you like to work with in the future?

W: See, I don’t totally agree with that because I think alot of the music sounds the same nowadays, which is why I still yearn for the golden era of hiphop. Still, I would like to work with the following artists who I feel have/are creative like B.o.B, Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, Common, Drake, Nipsey Hussle, Freddie Gibbs, Skyzoo, Outkast, Ludacris, T.I., Eminem and my all time fav Redman.

SE: So what can we expect see from Wordsmith next?

W: Well, I am always plotting and scheming, haaaa, so you’ll see another video from me for the track “As the Art Fades Away” off of my debut album “Vintage Experience,” which is out now, I’ll be hitting the road with Jim Jones, Freddie Gibbs & Bobby Creekwater for the “Crushin’ Feelin’s” tour, I’m in negotiations with a distributor that will make sure I get not just a digital release of my next album, “Music for the Masses,” but also physical as well. I’m also looking to get Revolt Radio Licensed so artists can collect royalties from having there music spin on the station and I have some big mixtapes coming up with DJ Delz & DJ King Assassin before this year ends.

Update 4/29/10 – Wordsmith’s newest single just got picked up on MTV JamsCheck it!